Beyond Fest 2017 Announces Slate

Beyond Fest, the highest-attended genre film festival in the US, has announced its full slate of 2017 programming featuring 32 events and 23 West Coast premieres of cinematic excess. Co-presented by Shudder, Beyond Fest returns to Hollywood’s famed Egyptian Theatre for 12 days of movies, music and mayhem spanning Friday, September 29 – Tuesday, October 10 to generate funds for the nonprofit 501c3 American Cinematheque.

With a diverse slate that includes films from all corners of the globe Beyond Fest is proud to open with Brawl in Cell Block 99 with director S.Craig Zahler returning with Vince Vaughn and Udo Kier in person, while closing night honors are bestowed upon Yorgos Lanthimos’ ferociously-twisted follow-up to The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Door. Other hotly-anticipated titles making their debuts include the World Premiere of Justin MacGregor’s Best F(r)iends with Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero reunited and in person, Joe Lynch’s blissfully violent Mayhem, and, courtesy of Amazon Prime Video, a very special theatrical premiere of Jean-Claude Van Johnson with the Muscles from Brussels himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme, in person with the show’s cast and creators.

“While the two worst manbaby haircuts on the planet prepared for nuclear destruction, we prepped cinematic armageddon,” said Beyond Fest Co-Founder, Christian Parkes. “We’re immigrants and we saw ‘Dr. Strangelove’ – we know how this ends – but at least we get to watch some great films with our heroes and friends and go out with a real bang.”

The most beloved genre films are highlighted with a series of special event screenings throughout the festival. Arnold Schwarzenegger takes center stage for an explosive 30th anniversary one-two punch of Predator and The Running Man. The Master, Dario Argento, will be in attendance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Suspiria with screenings of Synapse Film’s 4K restoration AND the recently unearthed 35mm print. ‘Car Chases, Collisions & Conversation: An Evening with Edgar Wright and Walter Hill’ covers four decades of filmmaking and the interrelated nature of the pulsating smash Baby Driver and the seminal The Driver in one epic night. Musical maestro, Paul Williams, will share stories from behind the mask of Phantom of the Paradise. Mick Garris and Masters of Horror preside over a reverential tribute to two of the greats – George A. Romero and Tobe Hooper – with a double bill featuring the West Coast premiere of MOMA and FIlm Foundation’s Night of the Living Dead 4K digital restoration and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And the theatrical premiere of Napoleon Dynamite Bootleg Edition pairs a totally gonzo WTF double bill with Howard the Duck on 70mm with Lea Thompson in person.

Beyond Fest welcomes the return of genre streaming platform Shudder as its co-presenting sponsor, a partnership that provides 14 screenings (11 West Coast premieres) absolutely free to film fans. Every night, the 90-seat ‘Shudder Theatre’ will feature a brand new film selected from across the world including Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s triumphant return Before We Vanish, home invasion thrill ride Better Watch Out, the critically acclaimed Canadian zombie shocker Les Affames (The Hungry), Marc Meyers’ searing portrait of a serial-killer-in-the-making, My Friend Dahmer, Alexandre O. Phillippe’s revelatory Psycho shower scene doc 78/52, and Ted Geoghegan’s sophomore scalper, Mohawk.

For Cinematic Void’s sidebar they have enlisted the help of like minds as they venture further into the unknown with a series of special screenings. Author and academic Kier La Janisse will be present for Jean Rollin’s The Grapes of Death and the release of the book, “Lost Girls: The Phantasmagorical Cinema of Jean Rollin” which she is publishing. Friday Night Frights are co-presenting the west coast premiere of the 4K restoration of the thoroughly bugnuts Rawhead Rex and the Death Waltz Records record release of Hellraiser on 35mm. And filmmakers Amy Holden Jones and Deborah Brock will be present for a double bill of anniversary screenings of their films Slumber Party Massacre and Slumber Party Massacre II.

Tickets go on sale starting noon on Friday, September 8 on Fandango. See below for the full lineup of Beyond Fest 2017.